Comments made in May 2021 by Ruger President and CEO Christopher Killoy indicated that centerfire lever-action rifles will be the first to come out of the factory later this year, so it’s just a matter of which Marlin models Ruger decides to keep in production.
Given that the dark series models were so popular and have the newest manufacturing equipment to build them, it’s a good indication to keep the hope alive. Killoy had previously indicated that there were problems with some of Marlin’s equipment needing extensive repair and maintenance in order to make serviceable.